


Raising the Stakes

by tomorrowisforeverallours



Category: Easy Allies RPF
Genre: Demisexuality, Friends to Lovers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-08
Updated: 2018-09-08
Packaged: 2019-07-08 10:24:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15928478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tomorrowisforeverallours/pseuds/tomorrowisforeverallours
Summary: He's not laughing when they get into it for real, cameras rolling, when Brad steps away to "get into character" and then turns around and stalks back towards them like something certifiably deadly. A panther, maybe. His eyes are dark behind the shades and he gives Huber the most disdainful look and throws the briefcase to the ground and Huber feels shivers go down his spine.oh no he's hot.





	Raising the Stakes

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a fic exchange with some friends, featuring my aesthetic appreciation for Ultima Brad and a very demisexual Huber. Prompt was just BCOB and childhood friends, which this really has nothing to do with, but hopefully it makes someone smile!

The memories Huber has of his middle school years with Brad are near-photographic: lazy summer afternoons spent training their thumbs to better button mash in Street Fighter, hanging out at the neighborhood pool, drawing their wrestling alter egos between notebook pages while the teachers rolled their eyes... Those sure were the times, if he ignores the bullying and the puberty and the weird feelings that took ages for Huber to put a name to.

(The name was gay. Super gay feelings.)

Some of those interests faded as they grew up, but the feelings weren't one of them. Nor was the desire to be a larger-than-life wrestler. It was one reason why Huber was _all_ in when Brad approached him with an idea for their upcoming betting special throwdown.

"We gotta make this _wild_ , dude. We've got the Money in the Bank, we gotta match that vibe, yanno?"

Huber did know, and he thought he was ready. But betting special day comes and Huber soon finds that he is _definitely_ out of his league.

It is a surprisingly-nice November afternoon, days before PSX and The Game Awards, and Huber's made a concerted effort to show up to Jones' early to prepare before they start filming. Ian's there already, perched over the tripod in the backyard.

She turns to catch his eye and give him a smartass grin. "Hey, Hubisoft. You're not gonna kill the camera battery this time, are you?"

Huber flushes. "No promises," he says, tossing her a green visor.

He stands around for a while, chatting with her and Brandon, until the too-familiar sound of Brad's car pulling up comes from the street. (So yeah, maybe he's memorized what Brad's car sounds like, no big deal.) He's wearing all black and the leather jacket and sunglasses and frankly looks like he's dying in this weather, but he gives them all a wave as he walks up.

"Bradley Ellis!"

"That's _Ultima Brad_ to you," his best friend corrects him, but he's grinning, and Huber just has to laugh.

"Sure, whatever."

He's not laughing when they get into it for real, cameras rolling, when Brad steps away to "get into character" and then turns around and stalks back towards them like something certifiably _deadly._ A panther, maybe. His eyes are dark behind the shades and he gives Huber the most disdainful look and throws the briefcase to the ground and Huber feels shivers go down his spine.

_oh no he's hot._

_Oh no oh God_ Huber’s never wanted to pounce on someone so bad, never wanted someone like this _period_ and the sparks shooting down every one of his nerve endings paralyze him and _it’s just Brad_ and he doesn’t understand. He’s a deer in headlights, nervous laughter bubbling out of him on instinct.

But Brad’s talking, too, and they’re filming, and Huber can’t just stand there and stare. He shakes himself out of it, blustering, “Why don’t we get this show _started?_ Put your briefcase where your mouth is, buddy!”

Ultima Brad glances down. “On the floor?”

Huber’s traitorous, easily-distracted mind has a different idea as to where he could put his mouth; he blushes. “That’s right.”

Ian’s knowing grin is wicked-sharp. Huber flips her off behind his back and hopes that the camera doesn’t pick it up.

* * *

Betting specials are some of the most fun Huber has at Easy Allies.

Filming this one is like pulling teeth.

They collectively decide to take a break after filming Ian’s two bets, Brad complaining of being parched and Huber wanting a moment to calm his nerves. He lingers in the bathroom after Ian’s paused the recording, watching her fiddle with the camera and flushing when she looks at him knowingly.

“Sooo… feeling the _heat_ a little, Hubey?” she teases. 

“Fuck off,” mutters Huber, though he can’t resist the embarrassed smile twitching at the corners of his mouth. He scrubs his face with his hands. “Maybe I do need that cold shower.”

Ian laughs. She sits on the toilet seat, crosses her legs, and says, “Alright, talk. So you think Ultima Brad’s super hot. Big deal.”

“It _is_ a big deal!” Huber whines. “Brad’s my best friend! I don’t like him like that.”

“Bullshit. You’ve had the hots for him since Gametrailers.”

“What? No!” Huber doesn’t back down, even when Ian gives him one of her unimpressed looks; he crosses his arms and gives her one of his in turn. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Ian. I’ve known Brad since elementary school. I think if I had a crush on him I would know by now,” he says pointedly.

He would know. Right? Crushes have always made him feel a particular kind of way: a little anxious, maybe a little manic, but enamored over all else. Being with Brad has never felt like that.

Being with Brad has always felt like home.

Ian must find what she’s searching for in his expression, because she rolls her eyes and sighs. “If you say so,” she responds, before a sly grin graces her lips. “Then you just got a little kinkier. That’s all.”

“I – wha – _Ian!_ ”

“What? Either you’re super in love with Brad and just didn’t realize it until you wanted to bone him, or you’re into edgy emo assholes and Brad was just the catalyst for your self-discovery. No biggie either way,” she shrugs.

“How – how do I tell the difference?” asks Huber, blushing.

He’s not seriously considering the possibility that he might have a _thing_ for Brad. Really.

Ian clearly thinks he’s hopeless, if her amused expression is anything to go by. “Well, are you attracted to Brad when he’s _not_ in Ultima mode?”

“I… I dunno. I’ve never really felt this before.”

“Not with anyone?”

“Nope.”

“Hmm.” Ian gives him a thoughtful look, then stands up and pats him on the shoulder. “Well, give it a couple days. See if you want him when he’s in a dumb T-shirt and cargo shorts and get back to me. Or, depending on what you discover, go get him, tiger.”

She winks and leaves the bathroom before Huber can get another word out. “And don’t pop another boner on camera, okay?”

“ _Hey!_ ”

* * *

It takes Huber approximately twenty-four days, eight hours, and seven minutes for Huber to come to terms with the fact that he does _indeed_ have the hots for his best friend.

Approximately half of those days are spent in denial, with Huber trying to avoid looking at Brad too closely, and the rest are consumed by his desire to pretend everything is as normal as possible. If he can go back to acting like everything’s fine, then eventually he’ll get over it, right?

Huber should’ve known himself better – he’s never gotten over a crush a day in his life.

And when he tries to ignore something, his brain takes that as a signal to _never stop thinking about that thing ever_ , which leads to him being inordinately distracted by Brad whenever they’re together, and everything becomes a mess.

So maybe, just maybe, the line between ‘friendship’ and ‘something more’ has always been a little blurred for him, and Huber had just never realized it until that something more came with a heaping side of “I want him to pin me down and fuck me.”

Oops.

Huber decides to deal with this the same way he copes with everything that scares him: he outright embraces it.

“Lookin’ _good,_ Ultima Brad!” Huber booms as he enters Jones’ garage, wrapped up in his sweatshirt after filming his little emo ‘reflection’ bit with Ian. (He’s never been so glad to see something _burn_ as that Giants merch.) Some of the other Allies are chilling, waiting to start; Ben and Kyle give him a weird look, but Huber has eyes only for him.

Brad snorts, cozied up in the loveseat in the far corner of the garage, already adopting his Ultima attitude. “Whatever, _Punished Huber._ ”

Huber laughs and goes to get ready for the rest of the filming. After the painstaking amount of time it takes to apply eyeliner on his one exposed eye, featuring multiple near-stabbings, he heads back out and perches on the edge of Brad’s chair.

“Don’t sit on the arm of the chair, you’ll break it,” calls Brandon from across the room.

_An opportunity._ Huber grins. “Sorry, Jones,” he says, sliding off the chair into Brad’s lap. Brad makes an offended noise and scoots over to accommodate him, but they’re still close, pressed shoulder-to-hip-to-thigh in a way that lets Huber imagine the warmth of him through his clothes and flush pink at the thought.

But this is Brad, who knows nothing of the unseemly thoughts that consume Huber, who throws an arm around him so casually that the mere normality of it lets Huber relax.

“Sup, dude.”

“Sup,” Huber echoes, his brain running a little wild. Ian makes eye contact with him from across the room and quirks an eyebrow, teasing him without words _. You gonna man up and do something, Hubey?_

Hell yeah, he is.

“I have an idea,” Huber murmurs to Brad, watching how he tilts his head ever-so-slightly to show that he’s listening. “Why don’t we raise the _stakes_ on these bets a little bit?”

Brad’s eyebrows appear from beneath his sunglasses. “Oh, yeah? What do you have in mind?”

He grins, nerves fluttering in his stomach as he wonders if Brad will take the bait or not. “It’s a surprise. If you win, I’ll do whatever you want me to do. And if anyone else wins, well, I have something I’d like you to do for me.”

Brad turns to him and raises his sunglasses to give Huber a pointed look, but he can see the spark of intrigue in his best friend’s eyes. “Six against one? Those odds aren’t very fair, now are they? Why not just have it be you and me?”

The truth of it is, Huber isn’t expecting to win this betting special. He would certainly like to regain his honor and the Slusser Cup, but now that they’ve opened up the competition to the other Allies, he knows that his chances of winning again are slim. Phrasing it like this means that Huber gets what he wants no matter which one of the Allies takes the championship. If Brad manages to keep his belt, well, Huber will come up with something.

“I’m not planning on losing. Are you?” Huber retorts; Brad scowls, and he just _knows_ that he won’t back down from that challenge.

“Fine. I’ll take you up on your mystery challenge,” Brad declares, blue eyes flashing in that way that sends shivers down Huber’s spine. He grins and settles more comfortably into the loveseat, content to wait now that his plan has been set in motion.

“May the best man win.”

* * *

In the end, Bloodworth steals the chance for any of them to face Ultima Brad out from under their noses. Ian and her fans are indignant about Referee Damiani’s ruling for weeks, and Huber is inclined to agree with them – who thinks a word can rhyme with _itself?_  - but the results have been announced and Cold Blooded is in.

And in an epic showdown that will be immortalized on the Easy Allies wiki page forever, Cold Blooded loses. The new era lives on, and Huber is stuck mourning his brilliant plan and dreading the punishment that Brad is bound to come up with.

May the Goddess have mercy on him.

At least Brad is nice enough not to make a big deal out of it. Huber is expecting him to go boasting about winning their bet to every Ally that will listen, but he approaches Huber in solitude before a group stream and pulls him out of the garage to “chat.” 

Anxiety coils like a particularly feisty snake in his stomach, but Huber laughs and allows himself to be led outside. Sunlight dapples the ground through the trees in the backyard.

Brad looks oddly awkward, hands tucked into his pockets. “So, the bet,” he starts. “Guess I won, huh?”

“I guess you did,” echoes Huber. “So what torture have you thought up for me?”

“Actually, I wanted to know what you had planned for your stakes first,” says Brad, and Huber stiffens in alarm. “Just to know if what I’ve got in mind is reasonable, yanno?”

Huber feels himself flush pink. He can’t – _can’t_ – tell Brad what he’d wanted. “Uh, it was dumb, you don’t wanna know.”

“Yeah, I do,” says Brad, and is that look in his eye a bit more knowing than before? “Come on, dude, it can’t be that bad.”

“No, really, I was gonna – um –”

“Just tell me, Mike,” Brad cajoles, and his voice is sweet and his eyes bright and Huber tenses like a bowstring and then reaches up and kisses him, quick and agitated and yet oh-so-pleased with the feeling of Brad’s lips soft against his.

He pulls away abruptly and steps back, waiting for rejection. “There,” he mutters. “That’s all I wanted.”

There is silence, and then Brad says casually, “Dude, you could’ve just asked.”

Huber looks up as though struck by lightning, blinded by the brilliance of his best friend’s easygoing grin. “I was gonna ask you out,” he adds, a second bolt shocking Huber out of his trance. “But I figured I would see what you had up your sleeve first. You could’ve come up with something better than just a kiss, dude.”

Is this happening? Maybe he’s dreaming. Huber pinches himself and then grins. Nope, no dream. He’ll have to thank Ian one of these days for kicking his ass into gear. Maybe he’ll buy her some Oreo Thins.

“If that’s how it is,” he says, the joy in his heart threatening to stop it altogether, “then I guess we’ll have to raise the stakes again. One-on-one in Hearthstone after this? My place?”

Brad quirks an eyebrow at him. “You’re on.”

**Author's Note:**

> An update on some of the things I have in the works:   
> \- new Skyrim chapter  
> \- Fallout 3 crossover because I'm trash  
> \- Solarpunk pirates oneshot??? 
> 
> Please talk to me about any of these things


End file.
